Digital media measurement platform DoubleVerify (DV) has entered into a partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which combats the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) online, in a bid to prevent advertising budgets being funnelled to exploitative and illegal content.
The collaboration will see DV incorporating IWF’s URL List – an index of known CSAM-hosting webpages – into its ‘Highly Illicit: Do Not Monetise’ content category. DV will contribute to the strengthening of detection and reporting of CSAM by flagging any potentially harmful content not yet identified by IWF.
“Given its role in the digital advertising ecosystem, DoubleVerify will help lead the way in how adtech companies can help prevent the monetisation of CSAM,” said Derek Ray-Hill, CEO of IWF. “This partnership enables us to move faster and further together in the fight to protect children online by scaling efforts to shut down monetisation pathways for this harmful content.”
The partnership is the latest in several steps that DV is taking this year to support the demonetisation of ad-supported CSAM. It’s launched a dedicated ‘P2P Sharing and Streaming’ avoidance category that allows brands to block ads from appearing on peer-to-peer sharing and streaming sites and apps. And the data and analytics platform has also expanded the distribution of its ‘Highly Illicit: Do Not Monetise’ content category to help advertisers avoid domains flagged by trusted third-party organisations, such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“The fight against illegal and harmful content online requires not just talk, but ongoing, collective action,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “By working together across advertisers, adtech platforms, publishers, law enforcement, and third-party experts, we can make a meaningful impact in keeping digital advertising safe, responsible, and free from the monetisation of harmful content. We will continue this important work, as illegal content online is a constantly evolving security challenge.”
*DoubleVerify is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, publisher of NDA
